Region Needs More ?Eureka? Ideas (Jeff Wood Publisher’s Commentary)

Dani Joy was cleaning out space in 1988 for her first Eureka Springs restaurant, Through the Looking Glass, when a competing neighbor strolled in the door. James DeVito, proprietor of the Italian institution DeVito’s of Eureka Springs, extended his hand.

“He started telling me which vendors to buy from, who was reliable and who wasn’t,” Joy said. “He even gave me the phone numbers. I had just moved here from Fort Worth, and I asked, ‘Why would you do that, being a competitor less than a block from me?’ He said, ‘People will not come if there’s only one restaurant in town. They’ll come if they have choices.'”

Joy, now the city’s mayor, is continuing that collaborative spirit. Leaders such as Jack Moyer, vice president of the Crescent Hotel & Spa, and Jeffrey Feldman, president and CEO of the Greater Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce, note that cooperation has always been a cornerstone of their business community. But, they say, efforts have ramped up dramatically since last May.

That’s when the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism suggested a number of entities in Eureka Springs should unite as one voice. Traditionally, the Carroll County hamlet of 2,200 sought promotion via the mayor’s office, the Chamber, the city’s Advertising and Promotion Commission and a litany of other affinity groups. It’s not that they didn’t work together locally, but too often when seeking external help the town’s tenacity translated into overkill. So in July, they streamlined.

Joy formed The Mayor’s Task Force on Tourism – a 10-member super committee representing hundreds of interests. By fall, the group had already gained momentum by:

 • Re-branding the city’s marketing under one unified campaign with a new logo and slogan.

• More comprehensive information at eurekasprings.org and eurekaspringschamber.com.
• Partnering through the North Arkansas Tourism Association to plan a recreation hub around Beaver Dam. The site, midway between Benton and Carroll counties, would feature a number of offerings including a fish hatchery, campground and tourist center.
• Helping land a corporate retreat from executives at theknot.com (the Google of wedding planning Web sites). Previously, the site didn’t even list Arkansas. After getting VIP’ed around Eureka Springs – which has hosted more than 4,000 weddings for seven straight years – the execs literally put the state and city on the e-map. Moyer said his venues have already received 1,500 new wedding leads including a staggering new number out of Texas.
• Supporting travel packages through The Great Passion Play and hotels such as Embassy Suites Northwest Arkansas in Rogers that target religious groups. The idea is to add value by including a day trip that takes in not only the most attended outdoor play in America, but also Eureka Springs’ New Holy Land and Christ of the Ozarks attractions.
• Holding a reception for Bentonville’s Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, set to open in 2010. Joy said synergies abound between the museum and Eureka’s “living, breathing artists’ community.” The city and museum “should drive traffic both ways,” she said.
• Landing the 2010 Governor’s Conference on Tourism for the first time in 17 years. It will bring 600 to 700 of the state’s travel and tourism leaders and additional state officials.

Overall, the timing is perfect for the rest of the region to take a cue from Eureka Springs and unify its tourism strategy. For the next three years, the Governor’s Conference resides in the state’s six-county northwest corridor. It’s in Rogers March 10-12, Fort Smith in 2009 and then Eureka Springs.

As we take center stage as a greater tourism market in Arkansas, it’s time to be as smart as Eureka Springs and convert our area’s unique experiences into tourism dollars.

This is not a separatist attitude, and local leaders must embody the idea that wins for Pine Bluff or Hot Springs are also wins for our area. But from Rolando’s to Rogue’s Manor, from the U.S. Marshals Museum to the Missouri line, isn’t it about time we got on the same page?

We already know we have more choices than pigskins and handicrafts. It’s just time to prove it.